Determining the Shaper Cut

Helical Gear Fillet Profile

George Lian

Management Summary
This article describes a root fillet form calculating method for a helical gear generated with a shaper cutter. The shaper cutter con-
sidered has an involute main profile and an elliptical cutter edge in the transverse plane. Since the fillet profile cannot be determined
with closed-form equations, a Newton’s approximation method was used in the calculation procedure. The article also explores the
feasibility of using a shaper tool algorithm for approximating a hobbed fillet form. Finally, the article discusses some of the applications
of fillet-form calculation procedures, such as form diameter (start of involute) calculation and finishing stock analysis.

Introduction
Analytical methods for determining the gear fillet pro- generated external or internal helical gear can be calculated.
file (trochoid) have been well documented. Khiralla (Ref. 1) A shaper tool generating a gear can be visualized as a gear
described methods for calculating the fillet profile of hobbed set meshing with zero backlash. The algorithm in this article is
and shaped spur gears. Colbourne (Ref. 2) provided equations based on a shaper tool in tight mesh with a semi-finished helical
for calculating the trochoid of both involute and non-involute gear. The semi-finished gear geometry was used for calculation
gears generated by rack or shaper tools. The MAAG Gear because the shaper tool used as the semi-finishing tool is usually
Handbook (Ref. 3) also provided equations for calculating the one that generates the trochoid. However, if the shaper cutter
trochoids generated with rack-type tools that have circular tool is the finishing tool, the algorithm presented will also work by
tips. Vijayakar, et al. (Ref. 4) presented a method of determining letting the finishing stock equal zero. The trochoid of a spur gear
spur gear tooth profiles using an arbitrary rack. The above men- can also be calculated by letting the helix angle equal zero.
tioned are only samples of many published works. However, the The shaper tool used in this algorithm may have a different
method for determining the trochoid of a helical gear generated reference normal pressure angle than that of the gear. A neces-
with a shaper tool is not widely published. This article presents sary condition for a shaper tool to generate the correct involute
an intuitive algorithm where the fillet profile of a shaper-tool- profile on a gear is that both the tool and the gear must have

George Lian is a senior project

engineer in the engineering depart-
ment of Amarillo Gear Co., located
in Amarillo, TX. He’s responsible for
the designing of cylindrical and bevel
gears and for overseeing gear cutting,
heat treating and gear material test-
ing. Lian holds a doctorate in indus-
trial engineering and has been with
Amarillo Gear for more than 25 years.
Also, he’s been involved in the AGMA
technical committees for helical gear
rating, computer programming, and
bevel gearing.
equal normal base pitches. This article stipulates that the axis of �
y+
the shaper tool and the gear are parallel, which is often true for
gear shaping. Consequently, the shaper tool and the gear must Shaper tool
also have equal base helix angles.
Although the algorithm is based on the shaper cutter as a O0
generating tool, the presented method can also be used to cal- x+
(0,0)
culate a trochoid generated with a hob or a rack-type tool if the rg0
number of the shaper teeth is large (e.g. 10,000).
Symbols and Conventions
The symbols are defined where first used. This article tries
to adhere to the following rules in subscript usage: G
Cg
• Symbols related to tool geometry have subscript “0”.
• No subscript is used for symbols related to the gear. rg
• Subscript “n” is used for measurements in the normal
plane.
• Subscript “r” is used for symbols related to the semi-fin - OG
ished gear. (0,-Cg)
• Subscript “g” is used for symbols related to the generat-
ing pitch circle. External Gear
When dual signs are used in an equation (e.g. ±), the upper
sign is for external gears and the lower one for internal gears. Figure 1—Shaping an external gear.
Non-italicized uppercase symbols are used to designate
points on the shaper tool, the gear, or other points of interest. �
Points are also represented as the coordinates (x,y). The length
of a vector (e.g. R) is represented as ||R||. OG
Coordinate System (0, Cg)
The reference position of a shaper tool generating a gear is
depicted in Figure 1 for external gear shaping and Figure 2 for
internal.
The following coordinate system and sign conventions are y+
followed: Cg
• A standard cartesian coordinate system is used. The cen- Shaper
ter of the shaper tool O0 is (0,0). tool rg
• The reference position of the shaper tool is with one
of its teeth aligned with the y-axis. The end of the shaper O0
tooth points in the –y direction. x+
(0, 0)
• The center of the gear, OG, is also on the y-axis with one rg0
of the tooth spaces aligned with the y-axis. The opening
of the tooth space is in the +y direction.
• Angular measures, related to tool or gear rotation or
location of a point, have signs. Counterclockwise rota- Internal gear G
tion from the reference line is positive, and clockwise is
negative.
Shaper Tool and Gear Geometry Figure 2—Shaping an internal gear.
The following are required tool and gear data for calculat-
ing the trochoid: Gear data:
Pnd is the reference normal diametral pitch, gear (in.-1)
Shaper tool data: n is the number of teeth, gear
Pnd0 is the reference normal diametral pitch, tool (in.-1) φn is the reference normal pressure angle, gear
n0 is the number of teeth, tool ψ is the reference helix angle, gear
φn0 is the reference normal pressure angle, tool sn is the reference normal circular thickness, gear (in.)
ψ0 is the reference helix angle, tool µs is the stock allowance per flank, gear (in.), defined on the
sn0 is the reference normal circular thickness, tool (in.) reference pitch circle (not along the base tangent).
da0 is the outside diameter, tool (in.)
ρ0 is the tool tip radius (in.) Basic Shaper Tool and Gear Geometry
δ0 is the protuberance (in.) The following equations calculate the basic tool and gear

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� inv is the involute function of an angle
inv α = tan α – α

invP0 Standard reference pitch radius of gear, r (in.)

rb0 P0
sb0_pr
n
2 rb0 r= (9)
2Pndcosψ
0
cosb0
rP0 Cutter profile
Base radius of semi-finished gear, rbr (in.)
S0
rS0 n
P0 Involute profile rbr = rb0 (10)
y-axis including n0
P0 protuberance
The helix angle at standard pitch radius of semi-finished gear,
90° P0
Transverse ψr
plan view S0
r tan ψb0
View "A-A" P0 ψr = arctan( rbr ) (11)
A A
Transverse pressure angle at reference pitch radius of semi-fin-
0 0
No ished gear, φr
p l a rm a l
vi e n Tube of radius 0 r
w Pn0 Pn0 φr = arccos( rbr ) (12)

Figure 3—Tool tip of a shaper tool.

Transverse circular thickness of semi-finished gear, sr (in.)
µs
sn + 2µ
geometry: sr = cosψ (13)
r

Standard transverse pressure angle of tool, φ0 Base circular thickness of semi-finished gear, sbr (in.)
tan φn0 sr
φ0 = arctan ( ) (1) sbr = 2rbr ( ± inv φr ) (14)
cos ψ0 2r

Standard reference pitch radius of tool, r0 (in.) Center of Tool Tip on a Shaper Tool
n0 A shaper tool for gear semi-finishing usually has protuber-
r0 = 2P (2) ance. It generates undercut on a gear, so that the finishing tool
nd0cosψ0 only needs to machine the involute profile of the gear. To obtain
Base radius of tool, rb0 (in.) the designed amount of protuberance on a shaper tool, the tool
tip is made tangent to the involute profile that is temporarily
rb0 = r0cosφ0 (3) formed by increasing the shaper tooth thickness to include the
protuberance (see Fig. 3). The tangent point, common to the
Reference transverse circular thickness of tool, S0 (in.) tool tip and the involute profile, will be referred to as the profile
sn0 tangent point, P0 . When the temporarily formed involute profile
s0 = cosψ (4) is removed, the shaper tool will have the designed amount of
0 protuberance.
Transverse base pitch of tool, pb0 (in.) The shaper tool tip is also made tangent to the outside diam-
2πrrb0 eter of the tool (see Fig. 4) so that the transition from the outside
pb0 = n (5) diameter to the tool tip will be smooth. The common tangent
0 point on the shaper tool tip and the outside diameter of the tool
Normal base pitch of tool, pnb0 (in.) will be referred to as the end tangent point, E0.
πcosφn0 The following are the required data for calculating the cen-
pnb0 = (6) ter of the shaper tool tip:
Pnd0
Base helix angle of tool, ψb0 da0 is the outside diameter, tool (in.)
pnb0 sb0 is the base circular thickness, tool (in.)
ψb0 = arccos( ) (7) ρ0 is the tool tip radius (in.)
pb0
δ0 is the protuberance (in.)
Base circular thickness of tool, sb0 (in.) ψb0 is the base helix angle, tool
s0 ψ0 is the reference helix angle, tool
sb0 = 2rb0 ( + invφ0) (8)
2r0
The base circular thickness of the involute profile, formed
where

58 SEPTEMBER/OCTOB E R 2 0 06 • G E A R T E C H N O L O G Y • www.geartechnology.com • www.powertransmission.com

by increasing the shaper tool tooth thickness to include the pro-
S0
tuberance, sb0_pr rS0
2δ0 y-axis rE0
sb0_pr = sb0 + (15) E0
cos ψb0

Coordinates of the center of the tool tip, S0 da0

S0
2
sinλS0 , –r
S0 = ( rS0sinλ cosλS0 )
–rS0cosλ (16) 90°
E0
where
View "A-A" E0
A
rS0 is the tool radius to the center of the tool tip (in.)
λS0 is the offset angle of the tool tip. For a shaper tool with
full tip radius, λS0 will equal zero.
Tube of
Coordinates of the profile tangent point, P0, are 0 radius 0

cos θPn0 0
P0 = S0 + ( ρ0 , ρ0 sin θPn0 ) (17)
cos ψ0
En0
where
En0
θPn0 is the auxiliary angle that locates P0. The angle is
Figure 4—End of tool tip (with helix angle exaggerated).
measured in the normal plane, clockwise from the
horizontal axis of the tool tip. θPn0 will usually have a The tool radius to end tangent point, rE0 (in.), is
negative value.
rE0 = || E0 || (24)
The tool radius to profile tangent point, rP0 (in.), is
The following are conditions for the tool tip to position properly
rP0 = || P0 || (18) on a shaper tool tooth:
The transverse pressure angle, φP0, at P0 is
r 1) The profile tangent point, P0, on the tool tip must also be
φP0 = arccos( rb0 ) (19)
P0 a point on the involute profile that includes the protuberance,
thus
The tangent angle, αP0, at P0 (the derivation of Equation 20 is
given in Appendix A) is π
αP0 + φP0 – ζP0 – 2 = 0 (25)
–cos ψ0
αP0 = arctan ( ) (20) 2) The angle, ζP0, subtended by one half of the transverse cir-
tanθPn0
tanθ
cular thickness of the involute curve (include the tool protuber-
The angle between the y-axis and the radius to the profile tan- ance) at P0, must equal the angle formed by the y-axis and the
gent point, ζP0, is line connecting the center of the tool to P0.
sb0_pr
ζP0 = – inv
invφP0 (21) xP0
2rb0 ζP0 – arcsin ( r ) = 0 (26)
P0

The coordinates of the end tangent point, E0, are where

cosθEn0
E0 = S0 + ( ρ0 , ρ0sinθ
sinθEn0 ) (22) xP0 is the x-coordinate of profile tangent point, P0 (in.)
cosψ0
where 3) The end tangent point must also be a point on the outside
diameter of the shaper tool, thus
θEn0 is the auxiliary angle that locates E0. The angle is
measured in the normal plane, clockwise from the da0
rE0 – =0 (27)
horizontal axis of the tool tip. θEn0 will usually have a 2
negative value. 4) The tangent angle, αE0, at the end tangent point, E0, must
equal the angle formed by the y-axis and the line connecting the
The angle of tangent, αE0, at the end tangent point, E0, is center of the tool to E0
ψ0
–cosψ
αE0 = arctan ( ) (23) x
θEn0
tanθ
tan αE0 – arcsin ( rE0 ) = 0 (28)
E0

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∂ffi fi(X + ∆X
Xj) – fi(X)
Equations 25–28 must all be satisfied for the tool tip to be ≈ (36)
∂xj δδxxj
correctly positioned on a shaper tool tooth. The variables to be
determined are rS0, λS0, θPn0 and θEn0. Since the systems of the where
equations are transcendental and cannot be solved directly, the i is the ith row of the Jacobian matrix
Newton’s method is used to calculate the roots for Equations j is the jth column of the Jacobian matrix
25–28. ∆XXj is a vector with its jth element equal to the jth element
Solving the System of Non-linear Equations of the current Newton’s step, δX, and all remaining
for Center of Tool Tip elements equal 0
For simplicity, rewrite Equations 25–28 as generic vector
equations in the form For each iteration, the sum of the absolute values of the
functions (errors) is calculated.
F(X) = 0 (29)
4
ERR(X1) = Σ |f (X1)| (37)
i=1 i
where
F(X) = (f1(X), f2(X), f3(X), f4(X))T The Newton’s iteration procedure is terminated when the error
= (Eq. 25, Eq. 26, Eq. 27, Eq. 28)T (30) (see Eq. 37) becomes smaller than a predetermined tolerance, or
when a predetermined number of iterations has been reached.
0 = (0,0,0,0)T (31) The Newton’s iteration procedure is described below:
X = (x1, x2, x3, x4)
T

= (rS0, λS0, θPn0, θEn0)T (32) 1) Select a set of initial guess values for the new root, X1. The
following are the suggested values:
The Newton’s iteration equation (Ref. 6) is written as da0
x1(rS0) = – ρ0
2
X1 = X + δX
δX (33) x2(λS0) = 0.0175
x3(θPn0) = –φn0
where δX satisfies the following system of linear equations x4(θEn0) = –1.4835

J • δX = – F(X) (34) 2) Select the initial Newton’s steps, δX. The following values
work satisfactorily:
where
δX = (0.01, 0.01, 0.01, 0.01)T
X1 is the vector of the new roots for the next iteration
X is the vector of current roots
δX is the vector of Newton’s steps for the next iteration 3) Evaluate the system of non-linear equations (see Eq. 30) at
J is the Jacobian matrix the new root, F(X1).
4) Calculate the error ERR(X1) (see Eq. 37).
where 5) The iteration is terminated, if ERR(X1) ≤ 10–10 or if a pre-
determined number of iterations (30 should be sufficient)


∂∂ff1
∂x1
∂x
∂f1
∂x2
…
∂f1
∂x4
 have been reached. Otherwise, continue with the next
step.
6) Save the new roots as the current roots, so that a new set of
roots can be calculated
∂∂ff2 ∂ff2
… (35)
…

J= ∂x1 ∂x2 X = X1 (38)


 7) Calculate the Jacobian matrix, column by column, starting
…
…

with column one using Equation 36. Repeat the calculation

∂ff4 ∂ff4 procedure for the remaining columns until the Jacobian
… …
∂x1 ∂xx4 matrix is completed (see Eq. 35).
8) Solve the system of linear equations (see Eq. 34) for the
next set of the Newton’s steps, δX.
9) Calculate new roots, X1, using Equation 33.
∂ffi 10) Repeat steps 3–9 until step 5 is satisfied.
is the partial derivative of the ith equation with respect
∂xj
to the jth variable
The system of linear equations in step 8 (see Eq. 34) can be
The partial derivatives in the Jacobian matrix can be approxi- solved by inverting the Jacobian matrix or by using one of many
mated using the finite differences

60 SE PTEMBER/OCTOB E R 2 0 06 • G E A R T E C H N O L O G Y • www.geartechnology.com • www.powertransmission.com

numerical root finding algorithms, such as Gaussian elimination
rg0
method (Ref. 7). rS0
Generating Pressure Angle and Center Distance rX0
The generating pressure angle and the center distance are
based on tight meshing of a shaper tool with a semi-finished
0 G
gear. The involute function of the generating pressure angle,
invφg, is given by the following equation (the derivation of
Equation 39 is given in Appendix A):
G0
sb0 + sbr – pb0
invφg =
invφ (39)
2(rrb0 ± rbr)
2( rg
where S0 X0
View "A-A"
Normal
sb0 is the base circular thickness of the tool (in.) A A
sbr is the base circular thickness of the semi-finished gear
(in.)
0 0
pb0 is the transverse base pitch of the tool (in.)
rb0 is the base radius of the tool (in.)
Xn0
rbr is the base radius of the semi-finished gear (in.)
Xn0

The generating pressure angle, φg, can be calculated by taking

Figure 5—An arbitrary point X0 and the normal on the tool tip.
the arc of the involute function (Ref. 5). The generating center
distance, cg (in.), is
rbr ± rb0 The derivation of Equation 44 is given in Appendix A.
cg = (40)
cosφg
cosφ Note: For a shaper tool with non-elliptical tool tip,
Equations 43 and 44 should be bypassed and the actual tool
The generating pitch radius of the shaper tool, rg0, is
tip geometry, X0 and mX0, should be used for the subsequent
rb0 calculations.
rg0 = (41)
cosφ
cos φg The normal at X0 can be expressed as a linear equation:
The generating pitch radius of the gear, rg, is
y = mX0(x – xX0) + yX0 (45)
rg = rg0 nn (42)
0 where
Determination of Shaper-Tool-Generated Fillet Profile
xX0 is the x-coordinate of X0
Conjugate point of an arbitrary point on a shaper tool tip.
yX0 is the y-coordinate of X0
The fillet profile (trochoid) of a helical gear is generated by the
tool tip of a shaper tool. This section describes the procedure
When extended, the normal will intersect the generating pitch
for calculating a point on the trochoid that is conjugate to an
circle of the shaper tool at point G0 (see Fig. 5). The x-coordi-
arbitrary point on the shaper tool tip, X0 (see Fig. 5).
nate of the intersection point can be calculated as:
The coordinates of an arbitrary point, X0, on the tool tip
are
cosθXn0 xG0 =
mX0k2 + √r 2
g0 1k – k22
(46)
ρ0
X0 = S0 + ((ρ , ρ0sinθ
sinθXn0) (43) k1
cosψ
cos ψ0
where
where
rg0 is the generating pitch radius, tool (in.)
S0 are the coordinates of the center of tool tip (in., in.)
k1 is a temporary variable
ρ0 is the tool edge radius (in.)
k2 is a temporary variable (in.)
θXn0 is the auxiliary angle that locates an arbitrary point on the
tool tip. This angle is measured in the normal plane, 2
k1 = mX0 +1 (47)
clockwise from the horizontal axis of the tool tip. θXn0
will usually have a negative value.
k2 = mX0xX0 – yX0 (48)
The slope, mX0, of the normal passing through X0 is
The angle, ξ0, formed between the y-axis and the tool radius at
tanθXn0
mX0 = cosψ the intersection point, G0, is
(44)
0

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�

r X0 rg0 rS0
rX0
rg0
rS0

0
G G

G0

rg '
X0
'
S0
rg TX0
Normal
X0 Normal (after rotation)

 S0 X0

Figure 6—The arbitrary point X0 and the normal after rotating the shaper tool Figure 7—The arbitrary point X0 on the tool tip and its conjugate point TX0
for an angle –ξ0. on the trochoid.

Semi-finished
involute profile

Trochoid
P0
Finished involute
Invo 3 -
Pro ute

E0 profile
file
e

Root circle Form Dia.

l
Zon

(SOI)

2- Conjugate pt.
ne l
Zo iptica of P0
p
Zone 1 - Ell ol Ti
Cutter OD To Conjugate pt.
of E0

Figure 8—Zones of a shaper cutter. Figure 9—Shaper-tool-generated fillet profile (trochoid).

x M(–ξ0)X0
X0' = M(–ξ (50)
ξ0 = arcsin( rG0 ) (49)
G0
where
Note: The angle ξ0 may be positive or negative. If G0 is
ϕ
cosϕ ϕ
–sinϕ
M(ϕ)) = 

on the left side of the y-axis, xG0 (see Eq. 49) will be negative, M(ϕ (51)
and so will ξ0. On the other hand, if G0 is on the right side of sinϕ
sinϕ cosϕ
cosϕ 

the y-axis, ξ0 will have a positive value. M(ϕ) is a rotation matrix. When multiplied to a vector, the
To find the conjugate point of X0, the shaper tool is rotated vector would be rotated an angle ϕ about the origin (0,0). If
from its reference position (see Fig. 6) by an angle, –ξ0. The ϕ > 0, the rotation is counterclockwise. Otherwise, the rotation
arbitrary point X0 will rotate to a new position, X0' is clockwise.

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After rotating the cutter (see Fig. 6), the normal at the arbi- 1) Zone 1 is the portion of cutter profile that coincides with
trary tool tip point (now X0') will pass through the generating the outside diameter of the shaper tool. It starts from the
pitch point G, thus satisfying the law of conjugate action (Ref. outside diameter of the cutter on the y-axis, and ends at the
1): end tangent point, E0. The tool profile in this zone gener-
ates the root circle of the gear. If the shaper tool has a full
To transmit uniform rotary motion from one shaft to tip radius, Zone 1 reduces to a single point on the outside
another through the action between two geometric diameter of the tool.
surfaces, the normal to the mating profiles, at the 2) Zone 2 is the elliptical tool tip starting at E0 and ends where
point of contact, must always pass through the same the tool tip joins the main shaper tool profile (Zone 3).
point on the common centerline. 3) Zone 3 is the main cutter profile that generates the involute
profile on the semi-finished gear.
It follows that X0' is a common point on the tool tip and the The shaper-tool-generated trochoid can be determined
trochoid of the gear. by calculating the conjugate points of the tool tip in Zone 2.
Since the shaper tool and the gear rotate in a constant speed Begin the calculation at E0 (see Fig. 8), and continue in small
ratio, and the shaper tool has rotated an angle, –ξ0, from its ref- increments towards P0. The conjugate point of P0 will usually
erence position, the gear rotation angle would have rotated an penetrate deepest from the surface of the involute profile (see
angle ξ, where Fig. 9). Continue the calculation procedure until the trochoid
intersects the involute tooth profile. Additional trochoid points
n0
ξ = ± ξ0 (52) can be calculated if desired.
n
Using Shaper Tool Algorithm
To return the gear to its reference position, it is rotated an to Calculate Fillet Profile of a Hobbed Gear
angle –ξ about the gear center OG. After rotating the gear, the The tooth profile of a shaper tool with an infinite number of
common point X0' will move to TX0 (see Fig. 7), which is a point teeth will approach a rack. Naturally, if a shaper tool algorithm
on the trochoid. TX0 can be calculated as: could handle an infinite number of tool teeth, a hobbed trochoid
could be accurately approximated. Unfortunately, the shaper
ξ)(X
TX0 = M(–ξ)
M(–ξ)(X
M(– (X0' – OG) (53) tool algorithm presented in this article does not allow for an
infinite number of tool teeth. A shaper tool with a finite, but
Note: In Equation 53, the origin of TX0 (see Eq. 53) is the large number of teeth is permitted.
center of the gear OG, not the center of the tool. To investigate the feasibility of approximating a hobbed
Determination of a Shaper-Tool-Generated Fillet Profile. trochoid with the shaper algorithm using a shaper tool with
The shaper tool discussed in this article can be divided into three a large number of teeth, a numerical example was calculated
zones (see Fig. 8): using Example 3.1.5 of AGMA 918-A93 (Ref. 8). The number
Table 1—Comparison of a Hobbed Pinion Fillet Profile (Ex. 3.1.5 - AGMA 918-A93) with Fillet Profiles
Generated with 100-; 1,000-; and 10,000-Tooth Shaper Tools.
Tool data
Description Gear data
Hobbed 100T-Shaper 1,000T-Shaper 10,000T-Shaper
Normal diametral pitch in.–1 12 12 12 12 12
Number of teeth 35 NA 100 1,000 10,000
Reference normal pressure angle deg. 20 20 20 20 20
Reference helix angle deg. 22.109 22.109 22.109 22.109 22.109
Outside diameter
in. 3.3686 0.1205 9.2357 90.1882 899.7129
(or hob addendum)
Reference normal circular thick-
in. 0.1501 0.1309 0.1309 0.1309 0.1309
ness
Stock allowance in. 0.001 NA NA NA NA
Tool tip radius in. NA 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100
Protuberance in. NA 0.0025 0.0025 0.0025 0.0025
Comparison
of the calculated fillet profile
Maximum difference between
in. NA NA 0.001901 0.000111 0.000011
hobbed & shaped profiles
Comparison
of form diameter (SOI)
Form diameter in. NA 3.040483 3.050692 3.041641 3.040600
Difference between hobbed &
in. NA NA 0.010209 0.001158 0.000117
shaper-generated form diameters

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� the hob to be 0.001901". For a 10,000-tooth shaper cutter,
the difference decreased to merely 0.000011". The difference
between the shaper-generated and the hobbed SOI’s followed a
similar trend. For the 100-tooth shaper cutter, the difference was
SOI-HOB HOB
0.010209" and for 10,000-tooth shaper cutter, 0.000117".
SOI-10000T 10000T
The trochoid curves plotted in Figure 10 show the shaper-
SOI-1000T 1000T

SOI-100T
generated trochoid converging to that of the hobbed one when
100T
the number of teeth in the shaper tool is large (e.g. 10,000).
Applications for the Shaper Tool Algorithm
The shaper tool algorithm can be used in computer-aided
0.0025
gear design and gear tooth modeling as shown in Figure 11. The
algorithm is also useful for calculating the trochoid geometry
for finite element or boundary element analysis. The following
Figure 10—Pinion trochoid (Ex. 3.1.5-AGMA 918-A93) generated with a hob sections describe applications of the shaper tool algorithm in
and shaper cutters.
form diameter calculation and gear finishing stock analysis.
Calculating Form Diameter
�
The form diameter or the start of involute (SOI) of a
finished gear is the gear diameter where the trochoid joins or
intersects the involute profile. When the two curves intersect,
two intersection points may appear to exist. The intersection
point that is closer to the tip diameter of the gear is the SOI.
The other “intersection” point is an artificial one, as the involute
curve has already been truncated at the SOI. When calculating
the SOI of a gear by iteration, it is important to make sure that
the algorithm converges to the SOI. Plotting the trochoid and
the involute profile will provide a visual verification that the
iteration process converges correctly (see Fig. 12).
Figure 11—A 23-tooth internal spur gear model.
The SOI can be calculated by comparing the polar angles of
� a trochoid point and an involute profile point, εtro and εinv respec-
Fillet profile tively, on the same gear diameter (see Fig. 12) (Ref. 9). When
P'tro
the two polar angles become equal, the trochoid and involute
Pinv Involute profile points will coincide, and the gear diameter at the intersection
'
Pinv
point is the SOI. If the two polar angles are unequal, compare
Form diameter (SOI)
Ptro the polar angles for a new set of points at slightly larger or
smaller gear diameter than the current one. Repeat the process
until the two polar angles become equal.
Table 2 compares the calculated SOI’s of the selected
numerical examples in AGMA 918-A93 (Ref. 8) using the
 tro
 i nv

shaper tool algorithm presented in this article and those using

other gear software. For hobbing examples, a 10,000-tooth
shaper tool was used for the trochoid calculation. The calculated
SOI’s using the shaper tool algorithm compared well with those
using other software.
Checking Gear Finishing Stock
For gears finished by grinding or shaving, the semi-finish-
Figure 12—Polar angles of a trochoid point and an involute point. ing tool is usually designed with protuberance that would gener-
ate an undercut in the gear. The protuberance provides stock for
of shaper tool teeth used were 100, 1,000 and 10,000. Table 1 finishing operations. The form diameter (SOI) of the finished
compares the distances between the trochoid curves generated gear must be smaller than the start of active profile (SAP) of
with the shaper cutters and the one generated with a hob. The the gear when the gear meshes with the mate. The algorithm
form diameters or the start of involute (SOI) (to be discussed in presented in this article can verify if a semi-finishing tool would
the section “Calculating Form Diameter,” below) based on the provide sufficient finishing stock on the gear while keeping the
shaper tool were also compared to that generated with a hob. SOI smaller than the SAP.
Figure 10 shows the trochoid curves superimposed on each other Consider a helical gear set with the basic geometry given in
for a visual comparison. Table 3. The initial pinion hob (A) design used the same stan-
Table 1 showed that the maximum distance between the dard reference pressure angle, 20°, as the part. Consequently,
trochoid curves generated with a 100-tooth shaper cutter and the calculated SOI (4.4873") was larger than the SAP (4.4788").
64 SEPTEMBER/OCTO B E R 2 0 06 • G E A R T E C H N O L O G Y • www.geartechnology.com • www.powertransmission.com
Table 2—Comparison of the Form Diameters Calculated Using the Proposed Algorithm and Other Software.
Description Example 3-1-1 Example 3-1-3 Example 3-1-9
Gear data Pinion Gear Pinion Gear Pinion Gear
Gear type Spur Single helical Internal helical
Normal diametral pitch in.–1 5 5 6 6 9 9
Number of teeth 51 104 21 86 24 69
Ref. norm. press. angle deg. 20.0000 20.0000 20.0000 20.0000 25.0000 25.0000
Standard helix angle deg. 0.0000 0.0000 15.0000 15.0000 17.7276 17.7276
Normal circular thickness in. 0.326267 0.293451 0.322622 0.257794 0.217257 0.192968
Stock allowance in. 0.008000 0.008000 0.005300 0.005300 0.000000 0.000000
Tool data
Tool type Hob Hob Hob Hob Shaper Shaper
Number of teeth 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 36 36
Addendum/Outside diameter in. 0.291300 0.291300 0.246000 0.246000 4.295000 4.476600
Normal circular thickness in. 0.314200 0.314200 0.261800 0.261800 0.102100 0.186000
Tool tip radius in. 0.067300 0.067300 0.068200 0.068200 0.020000 0.012000
Protuberance in. 0.009500 0.009500 0.008000 0.008000 0.000000 0.000000
Calculated form diameters
SOI–based on this paper in. 9.921823 20.204571 3.489356 14.525332 2.676943 8.225700
SOI–from other software in. 9.921617 20.204577 3.489576 14.525135 2.676900 8.225700
Difference in. 0.000206 –0.000006 –0.000220 0.000197 0.000043 0.000000

Table 3—Comparison of Form Diameters of a Pinion Generated with Normal Lead and Short Lead Hobs.
Oper. Cntr. Dist. 14.500 in.
Pinion Hob A Pinion Hob B
Description Unit
Gear Pinion (normal lead) (short lead)

Normal diametral pitch in.–1 4.0000 4.0000 4.1211

Number of teeth 93 18 10,000 10,000

Ref. norm. pressure angle (part or hob) deg. 20 20 14.5

Reference helix angle deg. 15.1560 15.1560 14.7003

Outside diameter (or hob addendum) in. 24.5840 5.4160 0.3372 0.1373
Reference normal circular thickness in. 0.3874 0.4812 0.3889 0.2419
Stock allowance per flank in. 0.0050 0.0050 NA NA
Tool tip radius in. 0.0900 0.0900
NA
Protuberance in. 0.0070 0.0070
Comparison of SOI and SAP
Start of active profile (SAP) in. 4.4788 4.4788
Form diameter (SOI) in. 4.4873 4.4550
SOI>SAP SOI<SAP

Therefore, hob (A) does not provide the required grinding stock on a class of shaper tool that has an involute main profile and
while keeping the SOI below the required SAP. In order to push elliptical tool tip in the transverse plane. However, the algorithm
the SOI closer to the root diameter, a short lead hob (B) was will also work for a shaper tool with other tool tip geometries,
designed. The hob had a 14.5° reference normal pressure angle. provided the coordinates and the normal of the tool tip profile
The calculated SOI based on the short lead hob (B) was 4.4550", are known.
smaller than the SAP. Hob B provided the required finishing The shaper tool algorithm can also approximate the tro-
stock with satisfactory SOI (see Fig. 13). choid generated with a rack-type tool if the number of shaper
Conclusions tool teeth is large. The numerical examples showed that a
A method for determining the shaper-tool-generated fillet trochoid curve generated with a 10,000-tooth shaper tool can
profile (trochoid) was presented. The method is applicable to approximate that generated with a hob with small error.
both external and internal helical gears. The algorithm is based The algorithm presented in this article does not require the

ww w . p o w e r t r a n s m i s s i o n . c o m • w w w . g e a r t e chnology.com • G E A R T E C H N O L O G Y • S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 006 65
2. Colbourne, J.R. The Geometry of Involute Gears, New
York, Springer-Verlag, 1987.
3. MAAG Gear Company Ltd. MAAG gear handbook. Zurich,
SOI-Hob A
SAP Switzerland, 1990.
(Normal lead)
SOI-Hob B
4. Vijayakar, S.M., B. Sarkar and D.R. Houser. Gear Tooth
(Short lead)
Profile Determination from Arbitrary Rack Geometry.
AGMA Technical Paper No. 87 FTM 4, 1987.
TROCHOID-Hob A
5. American Gear Manufacturers Association, AGMA 908-
(Normal lead)
B89: Geometry Factors for Determining the Pitting
Resistance and Bending Strength of Spur, Helical and
Herringbone Gear Teeth (AGMA Information Sheet),
TROCHOID-Hob B
(Short lead)
American Gear Manufacturers Association, Alexandria,
VA, 1989.
6. Press, W., S. Teukolsky, W. Vetterling, and B. Flannery.
Figure 13—Trochoid curves generated with a normal lead and a short-lead
hob.
Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77, The Art of Scientific
Computing, Second Edition. New York, University of
tool and the gear to have equal reference normal pressure angle. Cambridge, 1986, 1992.
Consequently, a trochoid generated with a non-standard cutter 7. Cheney, W., and D. Kincaid. Numerical Mathematics and
such as a short lead hob can also be calculated. Computing. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth, 1985, 1980.
Examples for the form diameter (SOI) calculation and the 8. American Gear Manufacturers Association, AGMA 918-
finishing stock analysis were provided using the shaper tool A93 : A Summary of Numerical Examples Demonstrating
algorithm presented. the Procedures for Calculating Geometry Factors for Spur
A computer program was developed using the algorithm and Helical Gears (AGMA Information Sheet), American
described in this article. The calculated form diameters (SOI’s) Gear Manufacturers Association, Alexandria, VA, 1993.
for both external and internal gears compare well to those 9. American Gear Manufacturers Association. Gear Rating
calculated with other gear software. An internal spur gear was Suite User’s Manual, American Gear Manufacturers
used to verify the shaper tool algorithm. Association, Alexandria, VA, 2003.

Acknowledgements Appendix A—Derivation of Equations

I would like to thank Donald R. McVittie, Gear Engineering The tangent and the normal of an arbitrary point on the
Inc., and Robert Errichello, Geartech, for their advice on the shaper tool tip (Equations 20 and 44). The shaper tool tip
conditions for proper meshing of two gears that have unequal considered in this article is circular in the normal plane and
reference normal pressure angles. I would also like to thank elliptical in the transverse plane, as shown in Figure A1. (Ref.
Theodore Krenzer, Gleason Works, for the help with the A1). The coordinates of an arbitrary tool tip point X0 (related
Newton’s method in solving a system of non-linear equations. to the center of the tool tip) in the transverse plane can be cal-
Kevin Acheson, The Gear Works, helped with the shaper culated as
tool geometry and supplied an internal spur gear sample for cosθXn0
checking the output of the computer program. He also cre- xX0 = ρ0 (A.1)
cosψ0
ated a hobbed example that resulted in rewriting a part of the
shaper tool algorithm. Appreciations are also due to Robert yX0 = ρ0 sinθXn0 (A.2)
F. Wasilewski, Arrow Gear Co., for calculating some of the
numerical examples in this article using the other software. where
Finally, I would like to thank others, too many to mention
individually, that have helped with this project or offered valu- ρ0 is the tool tip radius and
able comments that were, in one way or another, incorporated θXn0 is the auxiliary angle for point X0 measured clockwise
into this article. from the horizontal axis.

Printed with permission of the copyright holder, the Ameri- Differentiating Equation A.1 and Equation A.2 with respect to
can Gear Manufacturers Association, 500 Montgomery the auxiliary angle θXn0 we get
Street, Suite 350, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1560. sinθXn0
Statements presented in this paper are those of the author dxX0 = –ρ0 dθXn0 (A.3)
cosψ0
and may not represent the position or opinion of the
American Gear Manufacturers Association. dyX0 = ρ0 cosθXn0 dθXn0 (A.4)

References The slope of the tangent at point X0 can be calculated as

1. Khiralla, Tofa William. On the Geometry of External dyX0 cosψ0
Involute Spur Gears, 1976. tanαX0 = =– (A.5)
dxX0 tanθXn0
66 SEPTEMBER/OCTO B E R 2 0 06 • G E A R T E C H N O L O G Y • www.geartechnology.com • www.powertransmission.com
�
Similarly, the slope of the profile tangent point, P0 (see
the section “Center of tool tip on a shaper tool,” above), can be
calculated as
cosψ0
tanαP0 = – (A.6) X0 X0
tanθPn0

Taking an arc tangent on both sides of Equation A.6 completes View "A-A" Normal
the derivation for Equation 20. Transverse plane
A A
ψ0
–cosψ
αP0 = arctan ( ) (A.7) 0
tanθPn0
The normal at the given arbitrary point on a shaper tool tip is
Cylinder of
perpendicular to the tangent. Therefore, the slope of the normal, radius  0

mX0 (see Eq. 44), is: 0

tanθXn0
mX0 = –1.0 = (A.8) No
rm
Xn0
Xn0
tanαX0 cosψ0 al
pl a
ne
Generating pressure angle (Equation 39). The generating
pressure angle is based on tight meshing of a shaper tool with Figure A1—Shaper tool tip in normal and transverse planes.
a semi-finished gear. The derivation of the generating pressure (in.); and
angle equation is similar to the one given in 86 FTM 1 (Ref.
inv φg is the involute function of the generating pressure
A2).
angle, φg.
The following tool and gear data are given:

sb0 is the transverse base circular thickness, tool (in.); Substituting Equation A.9 and Equation A.10 into Equation
rb0 is the base radius, tool (in.); A.8 and dividing both sides of the new equation by 2rrg0, we get
sbr is the transverse base circular thickness, semi-finished pg0 sb0 rgr sbr rgr
gear (in.). If shaping is the finishing operation, the = – invφg + ± invφg (A.12)
2rg0 2rb0 rg0 2rbr rg0
base circular thickness for the finished gear should be
using the following established relationships
used; and
rbr is the base radius, semi-finished gear (in.). pg0 pb0
= (A.13)
2rg0 2rb0
The sum of the transverse circular thickness of the tool and
rgr rbr
the gear equals the circular pitch at the generating pitch circle. = (A.14)
rg0 rb0
pg0 = sg0 + sgr (A.9) where

where pb0 is the transverse base circular pitch, tool (in.).

pg0 is the transverse circular pitch at the generating pitch
circle; Substituting Equation A.12 and Equation A.13 into Equation
sg0 is the transverse circular thickness at the generating A.11, we get
pitch circle, tool (in.); and pb0 sb0 rbr sbr rbr
= 2r – invφg + r
rb0 invφg (A.15)
±
sgr is the transverse circular thickness at the generating 2rb0 b0 b0 2r br
pitch circle, gear (semi-finished) (in.).
Multiply both sides of Equation A.14, by 2rrb0 and solve for
The circular thicknesses of tool and semi-finished gear at inv φg (Eq. 39)
the generating pitch circle can be calculated as sb0 + sbr – pb0
invφg = (A.16)
2(rb0 ± rbr)
s
sg0 = 2rg0 ( b0 – invφg) (A.10)
Bibliography
2rb0
s A1. American Gear Manufacturers Association. Gear Rating
sgr = 2rgr ( br invφg)
± (A.11) Suite User’s Manual. American Gear Manufacturers
2rbr
Association, Alexandria, VA, 2003.
where A2. McVittie, D.R. “Describing Nonstandard Gears–An
rg0 is the generating pitch radius of the shaper tool (in.); Alternative to the Rack Shift Coefficient,.”AGMA
rgr is the generating pitch radius of the semi-finished gear Technical Paper No. 86 FTM 1, 1986.

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